


Another Way

by Alice_Kingsly



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ben Solo Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Awkward Conversations, Confusion, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Force-Sensitive Rey, Friendship, Gen, Jakku, Jedi Luke Skywalker, Loneliness, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Mother-Son Relationship, Scavenger Rey (Star Wars), Uncle-Nephew Relationship, Young Ben Solo, Young Rey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-02-28 20:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13278834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_Kingsly/pseuds/Alice_Kingsly
Summary: What if the past followed another way where Luke and young Ben found a little girl on Jakku?





	1. Chapter 1

 

Luke went outdoors and noticed Rey who was training on the edge of the cliff. At first the girl was warming up with her sick, but then she took out the saber. She was making sharp and fast moves, her body tensed, her neck and arms glitter with sweat. Rey had been training for a long time, she must have got tired, but the girl kept dancing with a dangerous weapon and repeating the moves again and again.

The stubborn one.

Definitely, she was a force-sensitive, and very strong, just like his nephew.

Luke clenched his teeth. It was ridiculous. He had crossed the whole Galaxy, searching for talented younglings, but he didn’t sense her. How could he miss her?

Luke sighed. It was his mistake too. He failed Ben, but he also failed Rey because he didn’t find her earlier. Of course, Jakku was garbage, the place where nothing happened; he would never guess to search for new students there, but still…

Perhaps, their past could follow another way.

 

* * *

 

 

21 ABY

 

“Don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay,” Leia repeated, mostly, to herself.

She tried not to worry, but a weird anxious feeling was raising somewhere inside of her soul. It was difficult to resist it.

That day should be special for all of them. Luke arrived to take Ben to the Jedi academy. The day came, and they had been waiting for it for so long, but…

…but Leia couldn’t stop worrying. She flicked an invisible dust off her son’s shoulder.

“Be careful. And listen to Luke. He’ll take care of you…”

“C’ mon”, Han rolled his eyes, listening to that. “Stop it, Leia. You don’t send him away forever.”

Solo was always like that. In contrast to his wife, Han was afraid to show his love openly. He didn’t understand that. Or, maybe, Solo simply didn’t know how to control his feelings. Even now, standing in front of Ben, Han was pretending that everything was under control.

Solo would never confess that he flew over the half of the Galaxy for the chance to say goodbye.

Han clapped Ben on the shoulder.

“See you around, kid.”

Ben nodded. Weird, but he didn’t know what to say. Ben thought he was prepared for everything, but now, when the moment came, he was completely lost.

Ben would never confess that he was afraid to say goodbye.

Luke sensed his nervousness.

“It’s time,” uncle reminded him.

Having felt a new wave of panic, Leia made a step closer and kissed her son.

“Everything will be all right,” she whispered. “Everything will be all right…”

“Ready?” asked Luke, preparing the ship for a flight when they got inside.

“Ready,” Ben whispered back.

His heart was pounding; Ben took short and fast breath, trying to calm down. The boy was persuading himself that it was all what he wanted. Ben was dreaming about being a Jedi, just like his uncle Luke and grandfather Anakin Skywalker. Ben grew up, listening to the stories about them. 

But fulfilling your dreams wasn’t so easy.

Luke was sensing Ben’s emotions and feelings, even if he didn’t want to.

“Concentrate on your breath. You need to calm down, Ben,” he advised.

The ship was taking off.

“Yes, Uncle Luke,” the boy answered.

Jedi frowned.

“Technically, I’m your teacher now,” Luke added after some pause. The tone of his voice changed. “You shouldn’t call me like that. I’m a Jedi Master…”

“Yes… Master,” Ben corrected his first mistake.

The boy’s heart sank. While dreaming about his future, Ben hoped to find a friend in Luke, but it wasn’t going to be easy too.

Ben had a bad feeling about that, the feeling that it would never come true.

But there was no choice, anyway. It’s too late. Master Jedi and his student began their journey.

Ben was watching the blue endless sky.

“How many younglings did you find?”

“A dozen so far,” said Master Luke. “Does it bother you?”

“No,” the youngling answered. The answer was too fast, and the boy disguised himself quickly.

Actually, that topic of conversation concerned Ben. A teenager had never spoken about it, and the anxiety inside of him was raising and becoming as big as a black hole. What if he wasn’t as special as everyone told him? What if he would be pale in comparison with other younglings? Ben was afraid to even think about that. Moreover, he had never been good at making friends. Ben wished he would be as confident as his parents…

Luke smiled. He sensed that emotions too.

“I was searching for force-sensitive kids, that’s all. Nobody has to pass any test for entering. You may differ by age a little, but you all are equal now. That’s why I asked you not to call me uncle. Do you understand that?”

Ben nodded. He didn’t know what it was, the Force or the influence of banal and simple words, but the boy felt relieved as if he had lost some invisible weight.

They were about halfway home when Luke frowned and looked at the planet they were flying by. Ben sensed his anxiety and confusion. Something was, definitely, wrong.

“Where are we?” he asked, examining the planet too.

“Jakku,” Master said absent-mindedly. Ben glanced at his uncle and realized that Luke was trying to scan the place, searching for something.

“What are you looking for?”

“I feel something strange…” Luke confessed. “The disturbance in the Force, a very strong one. Don’t you sense it?”

The teenager closed his eyes, focusing on his feelings. The Force in him was strong, too strong, and the boy didn’t know how to keep it under control. Ben needed to calm down and relax if he wanted to feel something. The boy sighed. He wished he could learn to control his emotions…

At first Ben didn’t sense anything. It was hard to concentrate and listen to the Force. At last he felt sudden warmth, something strange, something similar to explosion. The vibration. The Force…

“Yes, I can feel it too.”

Ben opened his eyes and realized that Luke was landing. The scanning took too much time.

“What are you doing?”

“What we are doing,” Luke corrected him. “We are going to see who is playing with the Force.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

     “I hate sand,” Ben muttered.

     They were in the middle of desert, or he just wanted to think that it was the middle of that horrible endless sand ocean. The air was hot; it was burning his skin, making Ben screw up his face. His lips tasted salt, his throat was dry, bright sparkles flashed before his eyes.

     In contrast to Ben, Master Luke looked very excited.

    “It reminds me of Tatooine,” Master Jedi said without hiding his delight. He was making fast hungry steps ahead. “The scenery is almost the same! It feels like I returned home…”

     “… to Hell,” Ben murmured.

     Luke stopped. Ben tensed up, noticing that.

     “What’s up? Do you see anything?” the boy didn’t realize when he began whispering.

     Luke froze, listening to his senses.

     “Do you feel that?” he asked again, turning to the youngling and meeting his scared eyes.

     Ben sighed and focused again. He was tired, he was thirsty, and it was difficult to concentrate, but he carried out Luke’s order.

     “There,” the teenager pointed to their left. “It’s there, right?”

     “Good,” the Jedi was pleased. “You’re right, Ben. We have almost found it”.

     “What do you think it is? What are we searching for?” Ben asked when they changed their direction and followed the right way. “It can’t be a human… right?”

     Luke shrugged.

    They noticed something a few minutes later. At first Ben thought it was just an illusion. The sun was high, and it has hard to recognize anything. Luke stopped moving again, but he didn’t listen to the Force that time.

     Instead of this the Jedi prepared the lightsaber. Unarmed, Ben felt unprotected. The boy didn't have the right to have his own saber. Not yet.

     “What do you see?” he whispered. Ben’s voice reflected his bright, colorful fear.

     “We found it…” Luke said, frowning. He was screwing up his eyes, trying to identify what they saw, but couldn’t do that too. The sun was blinding them.

     A small short creature finally noticed strangers and turned, preparing to run. Its moves were so fast that they were blurred.

     “Quick reflexes…” Luke muttered, respectfully now.

     Ben glanced at him. A weird, wrong feeling touched his heart immediately. Something sharp. Something like jealousy. Luke had never spoken about him in that tone.

     The creature was running away.

     “Wait!” the Jedi cried, jumping off the sand cliff. He quickly forgot about his lightsaber. “Stop!”

     The creature didn’t listen, of course.

     Ben ran ahead too, trying to keep in step.

     The creature knew that land perfectly. It was running fast, avoiding unsafe places. The Skywalkers weren’t so lucky. Unprepared for such kind of trip, they were drowning in sand, losing their speed and their time.

     In the end they appeared in front of an old destroyed AT-AT. The creature had already barricaded itself inside using the rusty sheet metal. Using it like the door, Ben guessed.

     Luke stepped closer, stretching out his hand and scanning the place. His hand was shaking.

     “It’s impossible…”

     “What? What is that?” asked Ben again, his voice forced.

     To his astonishment Master Luke switched the lightsaber off and sat near the door. Something glittered inside of his eyes.

     “It’s just s a child. It’s a small child…”

     Ben looked around. A child? Living there, in the sand of Jakku? It’s ridiculous!

     He didn’t believe in it.

     But the Jedi did. Luke knocked at the door accurately.

     “We seemed have frightened you, dear,” he said in a mild voice. “We didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

     The answer was only the silence.

     Ben had a lot of questions. Did Luke really believe in that? How could the child live there? They sensed something really strong, something powerful, something dangerous maybe, and it was too foolish to believe in it so easily.

     Ben wanted to say what he was thinking about it, but Luke had known everything already. He shook his head, showing his student to wait. Uncle Luke didn’t consider Ben’s opinion to be important.

     It was too much. Young Solo wasn’t used to that. Why should he wait? He’s not a child! Ben had no idea about patience. He felt almost angry now, but Luke didn’t want to notice that too.

     “Can you show yourself? We want to talk to you,” the Jedi said to the child. “We won’t hurt you, I promise.”

     Silence again.

     Ben sighed. His patience was at an end.

    “Why shouldn’t we…” he began to say.

     The child moved the door off. Having noticed that, Ben made a few steps closer. He was nervous again, and displeased too. When would he learn to control his emotions?

     Ben leaned down and saw a pair of big brown hungry eyes. A skinny little girl was staring at them.

     Master Luke appeared to be right. The girl created that disturbance in the Force. She was calling for them. But she was so small…

    “I’m sorry, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet,” Luke continued the conversation. His voice was kind, comforting and warm. “My name is Luke, and this is Ben. We’re absolutely delighted to meet you… right, Ben?”

     Master Luke and the girl looked at him. The boy felt uncomfortable again. That question was, definitely, strange, as if Juke wanted to share responsibility with him. It was… weird.

     In the end, Ben just nodded. It was enough, wasn’t it?

     “What’s your name?” Luke asked.

     The girl glanced at him.

     “Rey,” her voice was mild and soft.

     “Do you live right here?”

     She nodded.

     “Where are your parents?”

     Luke was too curious, he couldn’t stop asking questions. Ben could understand that. He was curious too, and a lot of new questions were boiling inside of his head.

     The child blinked as if she didn’t hear the question. Or she just ignored it.

     “They’ll be back. They fly back on a big ship,” she said after a pause.

     Luke was reading her mind, frowning. Ben could try to do that too, but he was afraid to spoil everything. Ben wasn’t as good as Luke; he was only going to learn to read minds, so it could be dangerous for the girl’s memory. Ben could break her easily, like a small porcelain cup.

     The silence surrounded them. If the girl knew what Luke was doing – she didn’t complain. She was only staring at the Jedi, examining him hungrily. Ben didn’t know what that meant.

     But he guessed what happened when his Master turned pale. Ben realized that all what Rey had said was true.

     She was all alone there.

     That news made Ben shiver. He looked around again, watching sand mountains, nothing more. It’s impossible. It couldn’t be possible…

     Who could leave a small child on Jakku?

     Ben couldn’t understand that. The boy sighed, feeling girl’s pain. He thought he was unhappy – but Rey’s life was much worse.

     Luke stood up.

     “I need to speak to Unkar Plutt about you,” he said to the girl.

     Rey didn’t have time to ask how the Jedi had found it out. Ben had no idea of who Unkar Plutt was, but it didn’t matter. Luke wouldn’t tell him anything. Not now.

     “Ben will look after you till I come back, right, Ben?”

     The girl nodded again. Her funny ridiculous ponytails waved in the air. She began to trust a new guest.

     “… Ben?”

     The boy glanced at the Jedi. Master Luke was staring at him, waiting for the answer.

     Oh, to look after the girl…

     “Sure. I mean, yes, Unc… Master. I’ll do it.”

     Luke nodded. Master had got the answer he wanted to hear.

     “It won’t take much time,” he said without saying goodbye.

 


	3. Chapter 3

     Ben was staring at Luke until his figure turned into a small grain surrounded by hot dry sand.

     The boy turned his gaze to the girl who was examining him too. The situation was… unusual. Luke gave him a task, the real one, a grown up one, but it was difficult to get used to that.

     Ben had never taken responsibility for anybody. No one had ever trusted him with anything, and Ben had to look after the child now. Ben had mixed feelings about that. Without Luke standing near, he didn’t feel former confidence. The mixture of fear and anxiety filled his troubled heart.

     Ben had no idea what to do next. Luckily, the girl suddenly saved him. What if she sensed his anxiety too?

     “Do you want to see my room?” Rey asked.

     What did she mean, that broken AT-AT?

     “Hmm…” he paused a little. “Sure”.

_Stay calm_ , Ben muttered to himself. The girl vanished from sight, disappearing inside of AT-AT. Ben made a deep breath and went inside, stooping.

     “Do you really live inside of AT-AT?” he asked. He needed to say something. The silence was too awkward.

     “What’s AT-AT?” the girl asked back.

     Ben sighed. Rey had no idea what her “room” really was. Great. Everything was too complicated.

     “Never mind…” he murmured.

     It was dark inside, and Ben had to wait until his eyes got used to the darkness. The space inside AT-AT was small and rusty. A former troop compartment, Ben guessed. The air there was stuffy, hot and smelled of metal. The smell of rotting pain…

     Ben sighed again. Rey’s emotions were the real host there. Her feelings surrounded him, making Ben feel Rey’s despair too.

     “Why do you live here all alone?” he decided to change the subject.

     The space in the “room” was almost empty, but Ben noticed a board full of scratches and a self -made shelf with different belongings lying on it. One corner of the room was separated. Perhaps, it was Rey’s bedroom.

     “I’m not alone!” she answered.

     That answer confused him. Ben concentrated, trying to read the girl’s mind… and saw nothing. She created a block, impossible to break. Ben tried again, but the Force inside of the girl was too strong. That was very… impressive.

     “I’m not alone,” she said again, persuading herself in her own truth.  “I’ve got a doll.”

     Rey ran to the shelf and then returned to Ben, holding something. After some hesitation, Rey smiled to him stretched out a self-made toy.

     Ben felt something else. Another strong feeling, strange feeling, unusual feeling.

_Trust._

     He must have impressed her.

     “Oh, all right… I see…”

     Ben examined the doll. It was made of the rags of the pilot’s uniform.

     “What’s her name?”

     “Friend,” Rey said shortly.

     Ben nodded, trying not to smile. He was wondering where she had found the uniform. Before he realized the truth, Rey asked:

     “Do you have friends?”

     She confused him again. Ben stared at the girl, unable to say anything. Rey was waiting for the answer, glancing back, looking up at him. Ben was too tall for her.

     Nobody ever asked Ben about it, and that was… weird.

     He shouldn’t have said anything, he really didn’t have to, but Ben suddenly blurted out:

     “I don’t know…I’m not sure.”

     “Are you going to make friends?” Rey asked again.

     “Well…” it was difficult for him to find the right words, “I hope I’ll find them soon when I begin to study with other students at the Jedi academy.”

     “Jedi academy?!” the girl’s eyes became bigger, making her look more fragile. She was a bag of bones. “The real one?”

     “Yeah,” her surprise was contagious, and Ben laughed, relaxing a little. “The real one.”

     Everyone heard the legends about the Jedi. Even those who lived on Jakku.

     “Are you a Jedi too?” she asked.

     Ben frowned and shook his head. He wasn’t a Jedi. Of course, not. Wasn’t it obvious? Ben was just a teenager. He was nobody.

     And then he got it. Ben must have been looking like a grown up to her. Rey didn’t consider Ben as a child, she really trusted him, and it was so special.

     “Why do you live here instead of staying with Unkar Plutt?” he asked, returning the toy to the girl.

     Rey frowned, and Ben realized she was blocking her memory again. He had a bad feeling about that…

     “He said that I needed to stay away. He said…” the girl was trying to remember, trying to find the right words, and it was difficult for her too. “He said that I wouldn’t borrow troubles here.”

     Ben was waiting for further explanations.

     “I think he’s afraid of me,” the girl confessed after some pause.

     Ben sighed.

     “I perfectly know what you’re talking about…” he muttered.

     Rey showed her power, he guessed. It must have been very exciting show. And a creepy one, if everybody was afraid of a small harmless child.

     “But you’re not afraid,” she said suddenly. Her confession was sincere, clear and pure.

     Ben looked at her. Rey was trying to scan him. Why did he feel so awkward? She was so honest, and her honesty made him feel weird. And calm. Yeah, her confidence gave him strength too…

     Rey read his confusion as doubt. She wasn’t good at mind reading too.

     “You’re not afraid,” she said again.

     “I know,” he answered.

     After some hesitation, Ben gave her a smile. It broke the ice between them. Rey smiled too.

     “Will you be my friend?” she asked in a high voice.

     The little girl was offering him a simple friendship. It was doomed to be short – at least, Ben was thinking about it that way. The friendship didn’t have to be special, but it could be memorable for both of them.

     “Ok,” said Ben, giving up.

     Without any permission, Rey suddenly held his hand. Ben hesitated, but squeezed her tiny hand too.

     A sudden voice made them jump.

    “How are you getting on, kids?”

     Ben and Rey turned around. Luke was watching them; he smiled, noticing their linked hands.

     Ben was going to die of shame. He prepared to say something as an excuse for that, but Luke only shook his head. He didn’t need Ben’s explanations. They had no time for that. Instead of this Luke sighed and opened his mind, letting Ben read everything he had found out.

     Ben concentrated, reading Luke’s thoughts. He saw an ugly tricky creature, Unkar Plutt, who knew everything about the girl. Ben frowned, watching blurred hazy pictures inside of his head. They were changing fast, giving short information about Rey’s past.

     Ben turned pale when he finished, just like Luke, who looked older than his age now.

     The truth struck Ben like lightning.

     After seeing that, he realized that Luke was going to take the girl with them. It meant another thing too.

     Her parents were never coming back.

     Desperate, Ben looked at Rey without hiding his shock. The girl felt their confusion, and she didn’t like it at all. It must have frightened Rey for the first time since they met. She glanced at Ben again, squeezing his hand and waiting for his support.

     Luke stepped closer and sat on his haunches, looking Rey in the eye.

     “We need to speak to you, dear. The conversation is going to be very serious. Are you listening?”

     Although Rey was afraid, she nodded and pretended to be confident. Ben could bet Rey started to guess what they were going to speak about. The ugly truth that she was blocking.

     Luke made a deep breath. It was hard for him too. Weird, but Ben felt relieved, noticing that. Luke was vulnerable, just like any ordinary man.

     Legends had weaknesses too.

     “I just spoke with Unkar Plutt about you. And we made a deal...”

     Rey appeared to be much cleverer than Luke and Ben thought.

     “Did he sell me to you?” she asked frankly.

     Ben smiled. She would be always like that. Rey could kill everyone with her honesty.

     Master Luke furrowed his brow.

     “You’re not a slave,” he said in a defensive tone. “You’re free now. Do you understand that?”

     The girl nodded again. Luke calmed down.

     “Listen… Ben and I aren’t going to stay here for too long. We need to go to the Jedi academy. The other students are waiting for us…”

     Rey was listening attentively, but Ben caught her confusion. She didn’t get what Luke was trying to say.

     Master sighed.

     “You can go with us if you want,” he said finally.

     Luke and Ben exchanged looks. Both of them felt relieved. The Skywalkers thought that they managed to deal with the most difficult part of the conversation, and everything would be much easier now.

     But they were wrong. Rey shook her head.

     “I can’t go. I’m waiting for my Mom and Dad.”

     She showed the board full of scratches.

     To Ben’s astonishment Master Luke lost his hope. Jedi didn’t know what to say. Two dark silhouettes inside of his head touched Luke’s heart, bringing pain. Rey’s parents weren’t going to return to their daughter, but their blurred images still could give a lot of trouble.

     “I spoke with Plutt about it too. He… he…”

     Ben felt sudden strength. The boy realized what he needed to do.

     “… He’ll inform us when he sees your parents. You can go with us now and return on Jakku later. Everything will be alright.”

     They needed to drive her away. Jakku wasn’t a good place for a little girl.

     Rey looked at Ben.

     “Really?”

     “Sure,” he nodded. Ben needed to add something important. “You can make friends at the academy. It will be nice.”

     “But I already have you,” Rey added, confusing Ben again.

     He smiled.

     “Right, but you can have some more. Sounds great, right?”

     Luke was watching them, frowning. He didn’t like to lie to the girl, but it was his fault. He hadn’t found the way to explain everything properly, and Ben had to take responsibility. Luke couldn’t blame the boy for that.

     In the end, they needed to show the girl another way to follow. They would explain everything later, when the time came.

     After some hesitation, Rey gave Luke a smile.

     “I agree,” she said at last.

     The Jedi breathed a sigh of relief.

     “Great! We can go, then,” he said, standing up on his feet. Luke was exhausted. What a strange, strange day…

     He got tired of Jakku. Master Luke was ready to go home.

     “Do you want to take anything with you?” Ben asked. “Your doll, maybe?”

     Rey nodded.

     Ben didn’t like to lie to her too, but he wasn’t ashamed to admit that he cared about the girl.

     “Where are we going?” asked Rey when they were approaching to the ship.

     A sudden joy surrounded the girl, making her smile.

     “On a planet far, far way,” Luke said, smiling too.

     “Is it hot there too?”

     “No. You’ll like that place.”

     She paused a little, thinking about something.

     “Are we going to collect garbage on that planet too?”

     Ben and Luke laughed.

     “No,” the boy answered.

     “Don’t worry about it,” Master Luke added. “All what you need to do is to study and behave yourself.”

     “And listen to Master Luke,” Ben added shortly.

     The Jedi laughed.

     “Yeah, that’s the main rule.”

     When the ship took off and they continued their journey, Rey fell asleep leaning on Ben’s shoulder.

 


End file.
